Chronicles of an American Beauty and an American Psycho

Twin Skeleton's (Hotel In NYC)

Twin Skeleton's (Hotel In NYC)

Pete was a complete mess in the days following the accident. I can't even imagine how much all of that must have hurt him. Patrick wasn't dead, thank goodness, but he had slipped into a coma, and the doctors had to amputate his left hand.

None of us could visit him for a while. I tried to make up for it by sending a few pizzas over to Pete's house, but it wasn't quite the same. Patrick was my friend too, and I missed having him around.

I think Viola had it the worst though. She had just gotten two loving parents, and now she only had one. She couldn't even play with Grim Reaper anymore. He reminded her too much of Patrick.

Once Patrick was in a stable condition, however, we were allowed to visit. I went over to the hospital on that first day. When I got there, Pete, Joe, Andy, and Viola were outside waiting for me.

"Hi Brendon," Pete said. "Glad you could make it." He smiled, but I could tell that it was a sad smile. Something had been broken inside of Pete, and it was hard not to notice that.

"Can we go see Dad?" Viola asked Pete.

"Sure, let's go," Pete said.

"Weren't there a bunch of people who said that they were going to come visit?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, but most of them won't come until this afternoon," Pete replied.

We all entered the hospital, and one of the nurses led us to Patrick's room. Sure enough, Patrick was lying on the hospital bed. He was paler than usual, and his left hand was nothing more than a stump. Get it? Stump? Okay, it's probably a really bad time for lame puns like that.

Pete stepped towards Patrick. "I don't know if you can hear me Pattycakes, but I'm here," he said. "I would have visited earlier, but the hospital wouldn't allow any visitors. Joe, Andy, Brendon, and Viola are here too, and Ray, Gerard, Mikey, Frank, Hayley, Spencer, Dallon, Ryan, and a bunch of your family members all said that they were visiting this afternoon. It's...it's just so hard being without you. Everything just feels so empty. I wish I could just disappear to wherever you are now, Trick." That was when Pete started crying. I don't think that I ever saw him cry before that. "Anyways, Viola's class made a bunch of cards for you, and all of our fans are sending you all kinds of nice messages, so I'll put all of that up in the hospital room." He kissed Patrick's forehead. "I love you so much, but you already know that."

"Hey Patrick," Joe said. "I think Pete summed it up pretty nicely. We all miss you. A lot. You know Patrick, you're like a brother to all of us. Well, maybe not Pete, that would be gross. I've known you for so long though, and you're one of the all-around greatest people that I've ever met. I don't know anyone else who is as talented or as nice as you are."

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "What about me?"

"Or me?" Pete said.

"Or me?" Andy added.

"You're all amazing," Joe said. "Anyways Patrick, you still owe me twenty bucks, so if you woke up soon, that would really be appreciated."

"Not bad Joe," Andy said. "Anyways, we're all here for you. It's really hard seeing you like this. I miss seeing you everyday, and I hope you wake up soon. In the meantime, we're definitely firing Charlotte though."

"Yes!" Pete and Joe shouted.

At that moment, Charlotte just happened to walk in. "Were you guys talking about me?" she asked.

"Yes!" Joe exclaimed. "You're fired!"

"Wait, what? I was just coming in to visit Patrick, and you're FIRING ME?!?"